Graduate School

After attaining her undergraduate degree from UCLA in Communications, Thea worked as a Professional basketball player for the Federal International Basketball Association. Stepping away from competitive sports, Thea decided to turn her focus toward understanding forest dynamics with an interdisciplinary approach and enrolled in the Environmental Science Master’s program at OSU. By interning with The Hawaii Agricultural Research Center, Thea was able to see how applied genetic conservation and tree improvement programs impact forest health, reforestation efforts, and impact a wide range of stakeholders; including government and non-governmental organizations, private and public businesses, and landowners. Thea completed coursework in environmental humanities, forestry, natural resources management and environmental science. Her graduate work focused on improving population survival of Acacia koa, a predominant forest tree in the Hawaiian Islands. Thea successfully defended her master’s thesis on the “Early Growth and Performance of Select Disease Resistant Acacia Koa Seedlings, on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.” Thea currently works at the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources with the Division of Forestry and Wildlife.